19th Sep 2007 09:00
Imperial Tobacco Group PLC19 September 2007 Trading Update Imperial Tobacco Group's overall performance for the financial year to 30September 2007 remains in line with management's expectations. We have continued to grow our cigarette volumes and margin in the second halfwith particularly strong performances from our key brands Davidoff, West andJPS. In the UK, our market share has grown and profitability has benefited frompricing improvements and cost savings. Bans on smoking in public places havebeen introduced in Wales, Northern Ireland and England during the past sixmonths. As anticipated, these have resulted in an initial decline in cigarettemarket volumes. We expect this impact to diminish over time, reflecting thetrends we have seen in other markets with similar legislation. We further grew our cigarette market share in Germany, although the overalltobacco market has declined as a result of increased cross-border flows. In our Rest of Western Europe region, our cigarette market shares have continuedto grow in the majority of markets with profitability benefiting from theimproved pricing environment. Our overall results have been affected bydeclining travel retail market volumes partly compensated for in our UKperformance. A good six month contribution from our US acquisition, Commonwealth Brands, isin line with our expectations and has helped to improve the Group's overalloperating margin. In our Rest of the World region, our results have further improved withcigarette share gains in most of our key markets. We continue to seekopportunities to expand our geographic footprint. The impact of adverse foreign exchange movements in the second half is expectedto be similar to that in the first. On 18 July, we announced our proposed acquisition of Altadis S.A. for €50 pershare, representing an equity value of €12.6 billion. The proposed acquisitionwas approved by our shareholders at an EGM on 13 August. In addition, we havereceived US Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust clearance and have filed an applicationwith the EU Commission seeking their clearance of the acquisition. We awaitapproval of our offer document from the CNMV, the Spanish regulator, which isexpected in the next few weeks. The acceptance period will commence after theapproval is received. Full year results for the year ended 30 September 2007, will be announced onTuesday, 30 October 2007. Board Change The Board of Directors of Imperial Tobacco Group PLC announces that DavidCresswell, Manufacturing Director, yesterday confirmed to the Board that he willbe retiring on 31 December 2007. Mr Cresswell's operational responsibilities will be transferred to GaryAldridge, currently Regional Operations Director Far East, Eastern Europe,Africa and Middle East. Mr Aldridge will become a member of the Company's ChiefExecutive's Committee. Gareth Davis, Chief Executive, said: "I would like to thank David for his immense contribution throughout his 46years with the Company during which time he held number of senior executivepositions and has been a driving force behind the Company's record of continuousproductivity improvement and cost efficiency. I wish him well for the future. "I am pleased to announce Gary's appointment; he has played a key role in thesuccessful development of Imperial Tobacco's manufacturing strategy. I amconfident that his considerable international manufacturing experience will beof great benefit to the Group." ENDS Enquiries Simon Evans, Group Press Officer Office: +44 (0) 117 933 7375 Mobile: +44 (0) 796 746 7684 John Nelson-Smith, Investor Relations Manager Office: +44 (0) 117 933 7032 Mobile: +44 (0) 791 939 1866 Garry Wilson, Investor Relations Manager Office: +44 (0) 117 933 7082 All our announcements are available on our website www.imperial-tobacco.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Imperial Brands